Two Tapes in One
This double-sided containment tape grabs poly like duct tape but peels off walls like painter's tape.
Hanging poly to protect against paint overspray or to contain dust can be a time-consuming chore when you’re using regular painter’s tape. Trying to get half of the tape on the plastic and half on the wall takes patience. Applying double-sided tape to the wall and sticking the plastic to that is much faster.
However, in order to bond with an uneven surface like poly, some double-sided containment tapes use aggressive adhesives that stick well to the plastic but are so tenacious that they can damage painted surfaces when removed. In order to mitigate this, it’s sometimes necessary to lay down a strip of painter’s tape on the wall first and then stick the double-sided tape to that. It’s a tedious extra step, but less frustrating than repairing damaged surfaces.
At IBS, the folks at the Shurtape booth allowed me to “borrow” a roll of their new containment tape. It’s called FrogTape Double-Sided Poly-Hanging Containment Tape, or DS 154. It has two different adhesive formulas, one on each side. The side meant for the wall uses a surface-friendly painter’s tape adhesive, while the other side uses a much stronger adhesive, similar to duct tape, that is designed to maintain a firm grip on the poly.
I used it to tape off some windows and trim on a recent painting project, and it worked as advertised. I even used it to stick a piece of cardboard over an electrical service panel. The cardboard stuck to the containment tape as if it were duct tape. A 36-mm by 25-yd. roll of FrogTape DS 154 costs about $13, and a 48-mm by 25-yd. roll goes for around $17.
— Mark Petersen; Fine Homebuilding tech editor
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